Arsenal at home another big test of Brighton title credentials
Sentences you never thought you would write part number 679: Playing mid-table Arsenal at home is the sort of game top six Brighton need to be winning if they are to lift the Premier League title this season.
We joke, of course we joke. Although having said that, thinking the Albion could be involved in a title race is less deluded than those in the boardroom of the Emirates Stadium were back in April when believing that Arsenal were an “elite club” who should join the closed-shop European Super League.
For the foreseeable future, it will always be funny to see these so-called elite clubs who thought themselves better than everyone else in English football lose to one of the plebs.
Three points at the Amex would take Brighton seven ahead of Arsenal in the table and go nicely with the £50 million that the Gunners put in the Bank of Bloom for Ben White. European Super League indeed…
Arsenal this season
Arsenal seem to lurch from crisis to being top four contenders quicker than you can tweet Arteta out. Already this season there have been calls for the manager to be sacked after losing to Brentford followed by claims that he is a genius and the heir to Pep Guardiola following last week’s 3-0 win over Spurs.
There cannot be a more bipolar club in the Premier League. The truth is that Arsenal this season are neither great nor useless; they are in the middle as slap bang average.
Finishing sixth is probably the best they can hope for, which would at least be an improvement on last year’s eighth place when non-European Super League elite clubs like Leicester City and West Ham United finished above them.
That meant that they missed out on European football altogether – yes, even the Europa Conference – for the first time since John Major was on the thrown. Little wonder they were so keen to found a continental competition for which you did not have to qualify.
That sort of lowly position is not good enough for a club the size of Arsenal, nor one who spent over £140 million in the summer.
Years of underinvestment from terrible ownership and the hounding out of Arsene Wenger have caught up with the Gunners and there does not appear to be any quick fix.
Still, it makes Arsenal Fan TV interesting, doesn’t it?
Team news
The only question surrounding team news that anyone with Brighton connections will be worried about is will Yves Bissouma be fit?
You can disregard anything that Graham Potter has said in his press conference about Bissouma making “good progress”. After all, Potter claimed last season that Adam Webster would be out for a few days and we did not see hide nor hair of him for the next nine weeks.
The proof of the pudding will only come in the eating regarding Bissouma being able to partake, which will be at 4.30pm when the sides are announced.
We saw how important Bissouma is to Brighton at Selhurst Park when Palace completely dominated the midfield. A car without an engine seemed to be a popular phrase to describe the Albion without their star man and it is hard to disagree.
If Bissouma is fit, Brighton have a real chance of beating Arsenal. If he is not, then it could be a long old evening – especially if Potter attempts a pairing of Pascal Gross and Adam Lallana again.
More speed and dynamism is needed than those two can offer. In the absence of Bissouma, it surely has to be Jakub Moder who starts.
In a way, Danny Welbeck’s latest injury has come at an opportune time as it means Potter can push Leandro Trossard forward alongside Neal Maupay, play Lallana in the hole and Gross alongside Moder.
That allows him to get the Albion’s two most creative players in Gross and Lallana in the starting XI, as well as adding more energy and movement to midfield by including Moder. So, we can probably expect Dan Burn to start in the middle of the park then.
Arsenal’s only absentee is Granit Xhaka, which may actually boost the Gunners’ chances of victory given that he is a major liability.
Key battles
Aaron Ramsdale has been relegated in the past two seasons with Plucky Little Bournemouth and Sheffield United and yet he has only been on the losing side once again Brighton, when the Cherries were beaten 2-0 at the Amex in December 2019.
That feels like a lifetime ago even before you consider that the Albion’s scorers that day were Aaron Mooy and Alireza Jahanbakhsh.
It is not that Ramsdale has been particularly good against Brighton or anything, it is just that the Seagulls are always woeful against him.
If there is to be any chance of topping the Premier League come Saturday night, then that needs to change. Over to you to wind up Arsenal again, Monseiour Maupay.
There is also a fascinating battle to be had between left wing back Marc Cucurella and Arsenal right back Takehiro Tomiyasu, two Premier League newcomers who have both earned rave reviews since their summer arrivals.
Will one of them end up looking not quite as good after they face off at the Amex? Fingers crossed it is Tomiyasu and Cucurella can enjoy a well-earned pizza in Shoreham’s premier Italian restaurant La Galleria afterwards, also popular with WAB and Andy Naylor.
Recent form
One defeat in six Premier League matches this season makes for very pleasant reading if you are an Albion fan. What makes the Arsenal game so important is that the rest of the Premier League are very eager to point out that Brighton are yet to face any of the top flight’s better sides so far.
Yes, there was the 2-1 win over Leicester City but with hindsight that looks somewhat less impressive as the Foxes have endured a pretty poor start to the season.
Beating Arsenal would not silence the critics but it would at least quieten them. As much as we enjoy taking the piss out of the Gunners, they still have a very good team and victory over them – especially given the mood they will be in after the North London Derby – would be another sign that 2021-22 will not simply be a battle against relegation for the Albion.
- 27/09/21: Crystal Palace 1-1 Brighton
- 22/09/21: Brighton 2-0 Swansea City
- 19/09/21: Brighton 2-1 Leicester City
- 11/09/21: Brentford 0-1 Brighton
- 28/08/21: Brighton 0-2 Everton
- 24/08/21: Cardiff City 0-2 Brighton
When we spoke to Arsenal website The Short Fuse, they said that the Gunners poor start to the season was not exactly unexpected given the difficulties the fixture list provided.
You can see their point. Premier League champions Manchester City and European champions Chelsea as two of their first three games was never likely to yield any points.
Losing to Brentford on the opening day can be excused too; a baying Bees crowd had waited over 50 years to see top flight football. Arsenal are not the first big club to suffer a shock defeat against Premier League newcomers playing their first match at this level and they will not be the last.
Since that tricky run of fixtures abated, the Gunners have have won four in a row without conceding. Anyone thinking that Arsenal at home will be easy could be in for a bit of a rude awakening.
- 226/09/21: Arsenal 3-1 Tottenham Hotspur
- 22/09/21: Arsenal 3-0 AFC Wimbledon
- 18/09/21: Burnley 0-1 Arsenal
- 11/09/21: Norwich City 0-1 Arsenal
- 28/08/21: Manchester City 5-0 Arsenal
- 25/08/21: West Brom 0-6 Arsenal
Last time we met
Brighton went into the final game of the campaign at Arsenal knowing that a win coupled with some friendly results elsewhere could have resulted in a 13th placed finish above Crystal Palace.
Unfortunately, Albion minds appeared to be on an Emirates beach rather than the Emirates Stadium. An insipid display in which Bissouma was the only man who appeared to care resulted in a final score of Arsenal 2-0 Brighton.
Both the Arsenal goals came from Nicolas Pepe, who although much mocked as a £72 million signing by the majority of English football fans actually has a very good record against Brighton.
Brighton v Arsenal head-to-head
There have been 35 meetings between Brighton and Arsenal in all competitions. It will come as no surprise for you to learn that the Gunners are the dominant side, winning 24 of those games compared to only six for the Albion. Five have been drawn.
Things do get a little more interesting when you look at the head-to-head for the top flight alone. Arsenal have won half of the 16 encounters with Brighton triumphing in five.
That is a lot closer than you would expect, given the disparity in success that the clubs have enjoyed over their respective histories.
A reason why Brighton will win
The Albion have an excellent recent record against Arsenal bar last season and you can easily find excuses for both of those underwhelming efforts.
As already mentioned, defeat at the Emirates came in the final game of the campaign which, although important for Seagulls fans due to the prospect of finishing above Palace, ultimately meant bugger all to the players.
The 1-0 defeat at the Amex came about when Potter made wholesale changes as a consequence of trying to rest people over the Christmas period.
It meant we were treated to the sight of Alexis Mac Allister and Alireza Jahanbakhsh as a front pairing and Bernardo pratting around in midfield.
For the first time since the 2019-20 season, Brighton will be taking a clash with Arsenal sensibly. That could count for a lot against a Gunner side who have hardly pulled up any trees this season.
A reason why Arsenal will win
No Bissouma, No boudoir. Okay, that phrase does not quite work as well as No Pirlo, No party, but you get the gist. Without Bissouma, Arsenal will have every right to fancy their chances.
Brighton v Arsenal betting
We really should retire this section after tipping up a draw and both Wilfried Zaha and Neal Maupay to score anytime on Monday night. It certainly made the fact that Palace let it bounce all the sweeter.
Could exactly the same Albion bets land again? Brighton v Arsenal always tends to be a tight affair so a draw could be on the cards. And Maupay loves a goal against clubs and fans who hate him. Combine that with the confident form he is in and both look solid wagers.
The draw is available at 23/10 and Maupay to score anytime is a best priced 12/5.
Predictions
Prediction of score: Brighton 1-1 Arsenal
Prediction of first minute Neal Maupay upsets Arsenal: 12th minute
Prediction of announced attendance: 72,457 – thank you for your fantastic support
